Telematics systems are being designed to deliver a wide spectrum of information and services via wireless links to vehicle-based subscribers. For instance, Telematics systems are being designed to allow remote service centers to control certain vehicle functions. A remote service center or remote device may be used to unlock or lock the vehicle's doors, to flash the vehicle's lights, to sound the horn, or to start the vehicle's engine. The remote service center may also be used to perform other functions such as theft tracking.
Some of these services must be capable of being performed when the vehicle's engine is turned off such as the unlocking of vehicle's doors and theft tracking. This requires that the Telematics system be powered so that it may monitor and receive commands and data. Today's Telematics systems, however, consume too much power to allow these systems to be continually powered on. The vehicle's battery must be protected from excessive drainage.
In the past, after the vehicle's engine is shut-off, the Telematics unit is powered for a fixed time period or cycled on and off for a fixed time period and then shut off completely to avoid draining the vehicle's battery. Current designs, however, typically only allow manufacturers to leave the system in a powered state for about forty-eight hours. A need exists for providing a Telematics system that can be powered for a much longer duration after the vehicle's engine is shut-off.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a battery-powered client device that can operate for longer durations to overcome or minimize most, if not all, of the preceding problems.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.